Oreimo Episode 10
Synopsis For the first time after their confrontation, Ayase and Kyousuke meet at the same park where Kirino exposes her hobby to her best friend. However, at that moment, Ayase meets Kyousuke to ask help from him. Ayase soon explains to Kyousuke that she has no idea on what present to give to Kirino, and thinks that Kyousuke might have some ideas as his elder brother. Kyousuke admits that even he does not know which gift would suit a middle school student like Kirino. In reality, Ayase has been thinking of giving a gift that relates well to Kirino's hobby and, despite the fact that being an otaku is still unacceptable to her, puts her own opinions aside for the meantime. She also tells Kyousuke that Kirino has been talking about "decent" anime lately, and due to some misunderstanding, Kirino does not want to talk to her, causing Ayase to resort to drastic measures. Kyousuke finally decides to help out Ayase, much to the worried girl's relief. However, it appears that it would become more of a challenge for him rather than for Ayase; Kirino is still acting rude towards him like always, especially because she knew that Kyousuke has been getting close with her friends as well. To make things worse, Kyousuke's remark about Kirino's attitude as "like someone's girlfriend" awarded him a quick slap to his face. Kyousuke decides to ask Kirino's friends instead. They meet on Justeen Cafe and Kyousuke explains what is going on and what happened to him and Kirino. He also asks about their secret with the animation studio, which Kuroneko assures is kept safe, albeit barely, mostly due to Kuroneko's fault. Luckily, Kuroneko only spilled the fact that she and Saori were with Kyousuke the week before, much to Kyousuke's shock; it might have been the cause of Kirino's uproar earlier. Saori shifts the discussion back to Kirino's present, and she decides to tell them about a party she was preparing for Kirino. Soon after, they head off to their search for the perfect present for Kirino. Initially, they thought of merchandise from Stardust Witch Meruru like stuffed dolls and doujinshi would suit Kirino. However, Kuroneko has her doubts, and even suspects that their ideas might already be part of Kirino's immense collection of Meruru-related items. Nonetheless, they did not leave one of the anime merchandise stores empty-handed, because Kuroneko gets her hands on a copy of the first volume of the Maschera light novel series for 980 yen. As their trip continues, Saori still thinks that the Meruru plushie they saw earlier might be the perfect gift for Kirino, but Kyousuke points out that there is something much better. Soon, Kuroneko stumbles upon that "perfect gift"... on a poster on one of the shops they walk past. Kyousuke later meets up with Ayase to tell her about his present idea: a limited-edition not-for-sale item from Stardust Witch Meruru. Ayase has no qualms over the idea, but she does not know how they would acquire a piece of merchandise that is not sold anywhere. Kyousuke soon exposes to Ayase that the item is the prize for an incoming Meruru cosplay competition. At first, Ayase is shocked and angered by Kyousuke's decision, and Kyousuke tries to explain to her what he is planning. Kyousuke tells her that she would not be playing Meruru as the previous year's winner will be an overwhelming contender. Instead, she would be playing a character who looks more closely to her: Dark Witch Thanatos Eros, whose costume is even more indecent than Meruru's. Out of sheer anger, Ayase punches Kyousuke and repeatedly tells him that she would not wear Eros Thanatos' costume even with the present at stake. However, Ayase thought of someone who can do their request on Ayase's behalf... and she decides to bring her to Kyousuke a few days later. It is revealed that it is Ayase's classmate Kanako Kurusu, and Kyousuke — posing as Ayase's manager Kouhei Akagi — introduces himself to Kanako, who initially shows a cute side. She exposes her more rude side when he discovers that Kyousuke is not a producer, much to his shock and annoyance. Nonetheless, Ayase lets Kanako dress up for her role as Meruru. Elsewhere, Ayase uses the vehicle she usually boards on photo shoots and changes Kanako with the costume of Meruru while Kyousuke waits outside. A few minutes later, Kanako emerges from the van as a girl who appears exactly like Meruru, which amazes Kyousuke. It is a few moments later when Kanako realizes that she is dressed like someone straight from an anime series; however, it's too late, since Ayase has already asked the driver of the van she uses to drive off. Kanako discovers that she has been tricked by Ayase into cosplaying for the Stardust Witch Meruru cosplay contest, and although she protests against joining, she eventually participates, because her clothes are on Ayase's van. They later witness the start of the event, which is surprisingly composed of adult males. Ayase and Kyousuke feel uncomfortable with the presence of older people watching an anime series for children, especially their avid cheers to the emcee. What's even more shocking is that Kirino belongs to that crowd. Kyousuke decides to warn Kirino about Kanako's participation on the contest. Ayase then gives her hat for Kirino to use and asks if they could meet up on their previous meeting place. Ayase later leaves the event and Kyousuke confronts Kirino, who steps on his foot with tremendous force. Although pained, Kyousuke manages to tell Kirino that someone from her class will be participating, and it would be best for her to keep a low profile. Kirino decides to follow her brother's advice and the Kousaka siblings wait. After 20 participants have finished their performances (with the defending winner Bridget Evans performing first), Kanako emerges and shocks the fans with her realistic rendition of Meruru and her perfect performance of the anime series' theme song. Her performance garnered 100 points, beating Bridget's 99. What's surprising is that even after the awarding ceremony, Kirino has failed to distinguish Kanako from the 21st contestant. Kyousuke decides to visit Kanako after her performance. He witnesses a disappointing sight on his way; Kanako badmouths Bridget into crying, her prize is on the other side of the room, and she is back to her old self. Despite getting angry over Kanako's attitude, Kyousuke commends her ability to perfect sing the theme song despite not having the chance to listen to it. According to Kanako, her constant exposure to music and performing on idol auditions frequently has caused her to develop a memorization skill when it comes to music. Soon, Kyousuke asks Kanako about her experience on stage: if it was merely an act and she was tricking the fans in reality. Kanako acknowledges the fact that she enjoyed being called cute and being worshiped on stage, although she still keeps her hate over moe. Kyousuke later takes Kanako's prize to Ayase, who instantly heads off to Kirino to give it to her. Ayase ends up forgetting to return her classmate's clothes and Kanako creates a fuss on the event venue, which Kirino is surprised to find out later on. Adapted From Trivia Characters (in order of appearance) *Kyousuke Kousaka *Ayase Aragaki *Kirino Kousaka *Kuroneko *Saori Makishima *Kanako Kurusu *Kurara Hoshino *Bridget Evans New Characters *'Kurara Hoshino' - the emcee of the Stardust Witch Meruru cosplay competition. *'Bridget Evans' - the British defending winner of the Stardust Witch Meruru cosplay competition. Opening Theme Song *The opening credits show additional scenery from Chiba, as well as introducing major characters of Stardust Witch Meruru, and portraying an incoming clash between Kirino and Kuroneko. *Kirino's screensaver is now from Sis x Sis, with the two female protagonists playing on a slide. Ending Theme Song *The ending theme song for this episode is entitled "No, Tom Has Learned Sexual Arousal for His Little Sister" performed by Hitomi Nabatame. *The art featured on the ending theme is drawn by Noizi Itou. Cultural References *'Cosplay' (コスプレ Kosu-pure) is an activity usually done by fans of anime or video games which consists of dressing up as their desired anime or video game character and, in competitive cosplay, often includes acting as that character as well. Quotes *(by Kyousuke) "What cheap guy did you turn me into?!" Category:Oreimo Episodes Category:Season 1 Episodes